


Chaotic Evil

by Pie_pecans_and_parrots



Series: Chaos [4]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Also fair warning the first fic in this series is.... garbage, BAMF Women, Brotherly Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Canon Compliant, Daddy Issues, Dustin Henderson Is the Best, Established Relationship, Evil Russians, Evil Scientists - Freeform, F/M, Friendship, Idiots in Love, Inspired by Music, Monsters, Oh, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Romance, Spoilers, Steve Harrington's Scoops Ahoy Uniform, Stranger Things 3, Strong Female Characters, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Violence, alexei deserved more ://, for the gays, i WILL BE REWRITING IT SO IF YOU CAN STICK THRU IT, lol, mostly canon, pls enjoy this xxx, read if you agree, read the previous stuff lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2020-11-02 03:55:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20613839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pie_pecans_and_parrots/pseuds/Pie_pecans_and_parrots
Summary: Starcourt Mall is the place to be - at least that's what the advertisements said.Charlotte Henderson is beginning to think they may have been stretching the truth a little - though who was she to judge?It wasn't like fighting the Red Army and monsters from alternate dimensions was everybody's idea of a day out at the mall. At least she didn't have to wear a sailor's hat...





	1. Beggars Can't Be Choosers

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Welcome BACK to the life and times of Steve and Charlie! 
> 
> This is just a teaser chapter; the whole fic won't be ready for a little longer - I'm only just about to start my second viewing of s3 - I had to take some time to process everything... a mental health break if you will.
> 
> Anyways! I just wanted to post this to let you know that Steve and Charlie are still going strong, and I haven't forgotten my fave duo. 
> 
> Stay tuned!

Starcourt Mall was a riot of noise and light – distractions and entertainment everywhere the eye fell, all the best of modern technology, convenience and attractions. The food court was no less loud, despite the lack of background music; unlike the arcade, the clothing stores, or the cinema had. It was due, in part, to the general hustle and bustle of people getting their snack on – but most of the noise, and subsequent soundtrack for that area of the mall, came from directly opposite the food court, from the two shops that shared the smallest collection of shopfronts. The two stores there seemed quite distinctly out of place; but in a way, it suited the owners and workers just fine. They were small because they weren’t exactly in high demand, but the owners had made the gamble to move stores from downtown Hawkins to Starcourt anyway.

It helped, of course, that technically speaking, the two ‘stores’ shared one big space with two separate entrances. It just meant the rent was split, and that the shelves that also served as dividers that were far too tall for all three workers that were on shift.

And so, that was why, at roughly 12:30 pm, Charlotte Henderson was perched precariously atop a rickety ladder – scrabbling desperately for a box of unsorted records.

Charlotte had applied for a job at the music store in town some months ago – but it was only after her boss had taken the leap at Starcourt was she offered the position. It wasn’t hard work, not really, especially considering she loved music – and the bus that ran multiple times a day between Hawkins and the mall meant she could usually make her own way down anyway. The fact that her boyfriend worked less than 100m way was just… a bonus.

She gave a small shout of victory as her fingers closed around the handle of the box, and tugged it towards herself.

“Everything okay, Charlie?”

She looked down at the familiar voice, meeting her neighbour’s concerned eyes with a grin. Jennifer McClaine worked next door to her, at the art supply store that played soft and dreamy pop most days; contrasting quite violently with her own rock track list she blasted. Jennifer was a sweetheart, and Charlotte seemed to find herself spending breaks with her more often than not.

“Yeah, babe – not a distress call.”

Jennifer nodded, head retreating back through the shelving a little as Charlotte descended the ladder. “I’ll return the ladder before you head off.” Charlotte told her, “What time is Hannah in?”

Jennifer frowned in thought. “I think two-pm. I’ve got to head off at one-thirty, so I’d better call her.” she bit her lip in worry, a small crease appearing on her lightly freckled forehead.

Charlotte waved dismissively. “Don’t worry – I’ll cover, I’ll just take my break then, and you can head off.”

Jennifer smiled. “You’re the best.”

“I know.” Charlotte bowed with a flourish as her door jangled. “Catch ya.”

Jennifer waved once before disappearing into her own store, as Charlotte turned to face her customers with a professional smile that fell immediately as she recognised the two boys and one girl beaming winningly at her. “Oh no.”

Lucas stepped forwards – brilliant white smile growing vaguely manic in his attempts to project ‘charming innocence.’ Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “Oh hello, most brave and beautiful and generous and loving-”

Charlotte plopped the box of records down on her counter with a long-suffering sigh. “What do you little beggars want now?” Lucas looked like he wanted to point out the shrinking height difference between them all, _again_, but Max aimed a kick for the back of his knee that made him buckle – and Will fluttered his eyelashes at her.

“We’re a couple of cents short for ice-cream, and Steve won’t let us use the door _and_ get cheap cones. He said there’s only so much law-breaking he can do in one day.” Will explained with his sweetest, most conniving voice. Charlotte looked past the three of them, scowling vaguely at the bright blue and white **_SCOOPS AHOY_** sign, hoping her boyfriend would sense her ire.

“So, you’ve _actually_ turned to begging?" Charlotte folded her arms, regarding them with her best stern gaze. “I’m not giving you money.”

“Think of the children-!” Lucas began pleadingly.

“You’d give _Dustin_ money!” Max fired back, making Charlotte laugh disbelievingly.

“We’ll put away those records _and_ owe you!” Will bargained, and Charlotte pointed at him, waving off the other two.

“I like the sound of that.” Charlotte grinned. She clapped her hands once. “Get to work kids, I’ll be right back.” As Max groaned, Lucas half-heartedly slugging Will in the shoulder, Charlotte pushed open the door, and began the quick walk towards Scoops Ahoy.

Her boyfriend was nowhere to be seen, but Charlotte waved to Robin Buckley – she knew the other girl from Jennifer’s stories, and her occasional visit to the two girls that ran the conjoined art store. They were all friends, and she guessed Robin had heard her fair share about her as well. Robin gave her a nod, before turning to yell over her shoulder. “Hey, dickhead – your way-hotter and much-smarter girlfriend is gracing you with her presence!”

Charlotte snorted, leaning over the counter. “How’s it going, Robin?”

Robin shrugged. “As well as it can, when one is constantly surrounded by incompetence and annoyance.” Charlotte grinned, eyes falling upon her boyfriend as he stumbled out of the backroom, shoving his uniform hat into his back pocket as he spotted her. Robin sighed. “Here comes incompetence now.” She muttered, turning on her heel and shoving into the backroom as Steve took her place.

He smiled at her, and despite the faint irritation she felt, she had to tamper down the urge to lean further the counter and press a kiss to his faintly flushed cheek. “Hey.” He greeted her. She couldn’t resist reaching over to brush back a lock of his hair as it flopped over his eyes.

“Hi.” She said exasperatedly. “Wanna explain my guests?” she jabbed a finger over her shoulder at the store. Steve grinned sheepishly.

“Well – you _are_ loving, and giving and generous…” Steve began, and Charlotte wondered just how many braincells Steve shared with the kids, “So I may have suggested you as a point of call. And I figured you could use a hand stocking shelves.” He grinned brilliantly. “So, I guess you’re welcome?”

_He_ leant over the counter, lips puckering slightly – and she shoved his face back with an irritated grunt. “You’re so annoying!” she exclaimed. “If my boss found out-”

“Which he won’t, because you basically run the store-”

“_If _he found out, I could lose my job – and we both know I can’t afford that!” Charlotte sighed. “I’ll be cutting back on my hours when Dustin gets back anyway, so I need to stay on his good side.”

Steve’s face softened, and he grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm before she could protest – ignoring her scandalised gasp, and flush as she made eye contact with a disgruntled customer eating a banana split at the table closest to them. “Lottie, you don’t need to cut down your hours, it’s not like Dustin will need supervision if he spends every day here.”

Charlotte shifted uncomfortably. “What if he doesn’t want to?”

Steve smiled. “Not only are his best friends here, uh, myself included,” Charlotte pressed her lips together to hide her delighted grin, “but you really think he’d want to miss out hanging with his sister?”

“I don’t know…” Charlotte wavered.

“It’ll all be fine.” Steve promised her, releasing her as Robin opened the backdoor. “Hey, see you later?”

Charlotte shook her head, with a grimace. “Sorry, I had to move my break back, gotta cover for Jenny – she’s leaving early.”

Robin rolled her eyes from her position over the ice-cream display, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like; “_Fucking Billy_…”

Steve shrugged easily. “No problem. I’ll bring you lunch.” Again, the flush of warm affection made her clench her jaw, forcing herself to step back.

“Okay, thanks.” She waved the pair of them goodbye, before jogging back towards the store. The black sign with the red writing proclaiming the store as ‘_Richie’s Records & Equipment’_ was emblazoned on the back of her t-shirt, and in tiny font on her name-badge, a reminder that this was an actual job – and she couldn’t afford to screw it up.

She shoved open the door, finding the three of them lolling around the counter, box empty. She sighed. “Alright, troublemakers – how much do you need?”

* * *

Charlotte ran her fingers lightly over the strings of their newest arrival – an electric acoustic guitar in dark cherry-wood. She had been sceptical at first, but had slowly grown to like the slightly distorted smooth sound. It was a different tone to her usual picks – and she’d been reacquainting herself with a softer sound. It was calming, and so distracting – that she hadn’t even realised someone had entered the shop, until they were standing directly over her. She jumped, heart leaping into her throat at the shadow that fell over her, falling backwards over the crate she’d been using as a seat.

“Sorry!”

Steve’s apology made her breathe a sigh of relief, and with a grimace, she accepted his outstretched hand. He pulled her up with no difficulty, and she was reminded again, that the fear that made her jumpy existed differently for him. He’d gotten into the habit of strength training, swinging his bat for hours on end when he thought she wasn’t paying attention, his fear manifesting itself in his broad shoulders and watchful eyes.

“Sorry.” He said again, when she was safely on her feet. He was smiling apologetically, but his honey eyes were searching her face intently.

“It’s fine.” She tried for a smile too. It grew naturally as it took in his full uniform. The little sailor-boy look never failed to amuse her, and he seemed to know it, blushing slightly and snatching his hat off. She grinned. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s my break.” He said, as if the answer should have been obvious. “Am I not allowed to spend time with my girlfriend?” It was her turn to redden, and she coughed, turning to replace the guitar.

“Well – I guess,” his hands snaked around her middle, tightening briefly as she pushed against them. “Hey – I’m not on _my_ break.” She said chidingly, but turned around in his grip obligingly.

“I’ll be good.” Steve promised her, a softer smile on his lips now. “Hi.” He said lowly. They were close now, and Charlotte could see his eyes drop to her lips, his hands settling on her hips.

“Hello.” She whispered, bringing up her hand to smooth against his chest. He leant into her touch, and she swayed into him. He kissed her chastely, sweetly – and she chased him as he pulled away.

“I’m being good.” He said with a hint of a smirk at her barely concealed pout. He patted her sides soothingly, pressing one last kiss to her forehead before he stepped back. Charlotte huffed, but accepted the hand he held out to her, accepting his unnecessary help in navigating around the instrument stands, before taking the lead over to the counter. Steve cleared his throat a little uncomfortably as she jumped up to take a seat on the desk, and she looked at him questioningly. “Uh, my mom is inviting you for dinner again.”

Charlotte’s stomach dropped. Steve’s parents had been more and more insistent on meeting her over the summer – and Charlotte had honestly no idea what to do. It was a default panic setting; and again, she found herself scrambling for an excuse. “Oh – I, uh, I – I have plans.” She said hurriedly, trying to pull an appropriately apologetic face. At Steve’s carefully blank expression she could guess she had failed. “Sorry. Tell her – yeah. I’m sorry.”

Steve nodded slowly. “Sure thing.” He said, with his carefully structured polite tone he used for strangers. She bit her lip. “I’ve actually got to head back. That’s lunch.” He nodded at the wrapped sandwich he’d left at the counter. By the time Charlotte had looked back up from the sandwich, he was already half-way out of the door.

Charlotte groaned, dropping her head into her hands.

They’d never had a conversation about it; but she’d always thought that they had an unspoken thing – parents were… off limits? No – that was – well, she didn’t know. She knew she had some _spectacular_ mommy-and-daddy issues, as did Steve, but it wasn’t something they actually… discussed.

She pressed her knuckles roughly into her eyes, trying to distract herself with the dull pain and the spots of white that appeared against the black of her eyelids.

Charlotte had always known she’d be shit at this; at being in a relationship. Everything she did just seemed to be wrong. She couldn’t help but be a little resentful of the ease Steve had. He could just… _love._

And sometimes she felt like she couldn’t.


	2. Is There Anybody Out There?

The Henderson household was generally quiet in the mornings; none of the regular inhabitants were in any way, shape, or form morning people. It made for sluggish starts, silent mornings only broken by the occasional word or quiet sigh. The laissez faire atmosphere of the summer holidays had only thickened this reluctance to rise, despite the two young adults that held down regular shifts at the mall. However, today was a Sunday, and usually that meant that Charlotte Henderson had a full day to do absolutely nothing – if taking care of her mother was nothing, but even that burden had lessened as of late. The unfiltered sun began to dawn on the house, peeking as best as it could through shutters and blinds, staining the parts of the home it could reach in gold. The whole neighborhood seemed to be united in happy slumber.

The sudden loud alarm shattered the hazy morning abruptly, and from a tangle of limbs and blankets, a hand shot out to slap viciously at the buzzing clock.

“Ugh.” Steve grumbled, giving the now silent clock another hit for good measure. Charlotte sighed, stretching her limbs out and disentangling herself from her boyfriend. “Uh!” Steve groaned as one of her elbows connected with his gut.

“Sorry.” Charlotte muttered, rolling over and sitting up. Steve blinked up at her sleepily from the nest of sheets, hair hilariously disarrayed, eyes squinty and swollen from sleep. Charlotte couldn’t help but smile, leaning down to press a kiss to his lax lips. When she pulled away, his eyes were closed again, but he was smiling too. “What time do you have work?”

Steve sighed, lips pulling down into a frown. “Not for another few hours.”

Charlotte maneuvered out of the small bed they found themselves sharing more often than not. “You sure I can’t convince you to ditch work and come with?” she asked, kicking out of her pyjama bottoms, and turning to look at him. His eyes were on her exposed thighs and she grinned, popping her hip out deliberately. “Dustin’ll love it.”

“Uhhh…” Steve took a moment to respond, finally dragging his eyes away to give her a half-sheepish, half-apologetic look. “Sorry, I can’t. I promised Robin I’d come in today. I think she might actually make good on her threat if I don’t show up again. I’m pretty sure she brought in some clippers on Monday.” He grimaced, more than a little real fear in his eyes.

Charlotte laughed, jumping into her jeans. “Alright, fine, keep your hair. I’m sure he’ll come down to see you anyway.” She scraped her hair into a ponytail, ignoring the bits that fell right back around her face. “Just remember to vacate the premises before the party get here, I think they’re planning to surprise him.”

“Cute.” Steve said, collapsing back onto the bed. “Will I see you later too?”

Charlotte hummed, moving back over to him, and winking at his prone form. “If you’re lucky.”

He raised an eyebrow, and reached out, snagging the hem of her shirt with surprising speed. He tugged her hard enough to make her stumble and fall into him, but she didn’t have the time to make a surprised noise, because he was kissing her in the next moment. He knew just how to make her melt, and as his hand made its way under her shirt hem, she shuddered. He pulled away first, fingers splayed over her ribcage, eyes heavy. “I’m lucky.” He murmured.

She had to take a moment to catch her breath. “You’ll see me later.”

“Good girl.” He said, and let her go. She almost – _almost_ – shivered again, but settled on a stony glare that made him raise his hands in surrender. “Goodbye, light-of-my-life.”

“Fire of my loins…” Charlotte finished absently. He grinned, and made a show out of arranging himself back into bed, closing his eyes as he snuggled into the pillow. She rolled her eyes at him, and backed out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

* * *

Charlotte had to stand on her tiptoes in the throng of parents and young teens swarming the pick-up zone for Camp Know-Where. She hadn’t grown much since last year – Steve told her he suspected she may have even shrunk a little – and looking at all the kids with their parents made her realise that Dustin would probably have grown even taller since they’d parted.

Dustin had been, initially, reluctant to attend the Camp – at least he had been outwardly – but when Charlotte had gotten a job at the record store, and the steady income had began to make itself obvious in the stocking of the fridge, the new clothes she’d sent him off with, the slight ease in their mother’s attitude, he’d admitted to wanting to go. Both Claudia and Charlotte had dropped him off, but Charlotte had come to get him alone.

She’d missed her brother.

The kids only got one call home a week, and hearing him so excited about all the activities had eased her worry a little – but she wanted him with her. Things in Hawkins had been quiet for a long time now, and finally, _finally _she thought she was letting go of some of the paranoia that had plagued her so heavily during the early days after… the Lab. The thought of the events of last Winter made the sticky summer air feel cold for a moment, and she clenched her jaw, forcing her thoughts out of the dark areas they’d travelled to.

_“LOTTIE!” _

She only had the scream of her name as warning, before the full mass of her brother came crashing into her at full speed. She would have toppled over if she hadn’t planted her feet, and she wheezed as the sharp edge of something was squashed between them. But Dustin was back, and she managed to laugh through the pain, wrapping her arms just as tightly around her brother and the crate he was holding.

He _had_ grown.

She eyed him suspiciously as they parted. “They been feeding you growth hormones or somethin’?” she asked, looking him up and down. He looked both thinner and longer, like he’d been stretched, his hair in dire need of a haircut.

He grinned at her, eyes sparkling. “I’ve put on three inches.”

“_Three?_” she squawked, and just because she could, slung an arm around his neck to tug him into her again. “It’s good to see you, Dusty.”

He relaxed a little into her semi-chokehold. “Missed you too.”

* * *

Charlotte was _this_ close to dropping Dustin by the side of the road. She’d been _planning_ the car trip back home, she’d made mixtapes and everything, packed Dustin some sandwiches, and yet her dumb little brother wouldn’t even give her the time of day, and had been screeching into his radio since they’d hit the Hawkins town limits. Charlotte exhaled violently through her nose, and clenched her hands where they sat on the wheel, and prayed for patience. “Dustin, I swear to god – if you call them one more-”

“This is Gold Leader! Does _anyone_ copy!” Dustin yelled into his radio, for what felt like the billionth time. “Hello?! This is-”

“Dustin! They’re probably out of range! Or, like, busy or something.” Charlotte snapped. Dustin’s face fell into an expression that was more than a little forlorn at her words, and despite how annoying he was being, she wished she could just tell him about the surprise – though that would defeat the whole point.

“I’m _in_ range. They should be answering.” Dustin said grumpily.

“Well, you’ve been away a whole month, Dusty.” Charlotte said, trying not to sound too mean. “Maybe they just…forgot.” Dustin made a wordless noise of irritation, and turned away from her, turning up the stereo pointedly. Charlotte sighed, and resigned herself to a silent trip the rest of the way home.

They pulled up outside the house, Charlotte noting the absence of Steve’s car, and any indication of the kids that _should_ be waiting inside. She frowned to herself as Dustin got out, _they didn’t actually forget, did they?_ She turned the car off as Dustin opened up the boot, scanning the house. A flicker of movement in the kitchen window made her squint, and then smile. They hadn’t forgotten. There was no mistaking that head of red hair. She swung herself out of the car, closing the door loudly. “Do you want a hand, Dusty?” She asked, walking around to meet her brother where he was struggling to unload his… contraption. “What is that thing anyway?” she asked, eyeing the tangle of metal and wire sticking from the wooden box.

Dustin sniffed, a little superiorly as he managed to balance the box in his arms. “It’s a long-range radio transponder. Me and my girlfriend built it.” he said, and then began to walk towards the house, as if any of his words had made sense.

“Wait, wait, wait – what?!” Charlotte shut the boot and hurried after her brother, opening the door for him.

“It’s a mini radio tower, duh.” Dustin said, rolling his eyes.

Charlotte blinked and shook her head. “Um, no – I know I didn’t just have a stroke – what was that about a _girlfriend_?”

Dustin paused in the doorway of his room, a smug smile growing across his face. “Yeah.” He said causally. “Her name is Suzie, and she’s hotter than Kelly Preston.” With that bizarre and disturbing statement, her brother kicked his bedroom door shut, leaving Charlotte staring at the blank wood.

“What the hell…” she muttered to herself, running a hand over her face. “Um. Okay!” she said loudly, mostly just so the others in the house could hear her too. “I’m going to see Steve, and I’ll be back later!”

There was a muffled reply from Dustin’s room, and when she turned for the front door, she caught Lucas giving her a thumbs up in her living room’s doorway. She grinned, and waved at him once before she left, jogging down the steps towards the car. _Yeah, things were good._ In the sunlight, everything felt settled. _Dustin was home, and he was happy._

That was all that really mattered.

* * *

“-That’s when I said, ‘If you know anything about women, you’d be able to tell me exactly what a menstrual cycle is.’ And then he went green, dude, seriously.” Robin said, almost proudly, Charlotte smiling bemusedly from her seat at the table closest to the register. Steve, who had been initially beaming at her arrival, was now looking unhappily at the pair of them. Robin turned as she looked at her boyfriend, and laughed. “He kinda looked like that actually,” she said, pointing at Steve’s uncomfortable face. “And he never bothered me again.” She finished the tale of her first and only date with a satisfied smile.

Charlotte clapped quietly. “Well, remind me to start talking period horror stories when Steve starts to bug me.”

“Please, _please_ do not.” Steve said, looking horrified. Charlotte grinned at him, shooting him a wink when Robin was distracted with the napkins she was folding. He mouthed a desperate ‘_I-love-you-please’, _and she hid her laughter in her bowl of banana split. Perks of having a boyfriend at an ice-cream parlor; limitless ice-cream.

Robin looked at her watch. “Okay, that’s enough work for today. I’m going on break.” She announced.

“What? You’ve only been working for fifteen minutes, and twelve of those minutes were spent talking to _my_ girlfriend.” Steve said, watching Robin disbelievingly as the other girl took off her hat and set down her ice cream scoop in outrage. Robin didn’t deign to answer him, and Charlotte could help but wince as the other girl disappeared into the back room without so much as a look at Steve. Steve rounded on her. “Do you _see_ what I have to deal with?”

“I’m so sorry…” Charlotte said, voice dripping with false sympathy. Charlotte personally thought Robin was hilarious, but she’d never say so to Steve, for fear of his legendary cold-shoulder and patented hurt puppy-dog eyes.

Steve pouted. “Are you _sure_ you can’t get me a job at Richie’s?”

“When you can tell me the difference between a bass and a violin, we can talk.” Charlotte grinned, watching Steve visibly struggle to think of the two instruments.

“I could _learn_.” He settled on, vehemently. “You could _teach_ me.”

“You askin’ your girlfriend to teach you to be a man, Harrington?” the unfortunately familiar Californian drawl drew Charlotte’s attention, and she turned to meet Billy Hargrove’s insufferable smirk with a scowl. “I mean, if you’re gonna ask anyone, Henderson’s _definitely _your best bet.”

Charlotte was a little unsure if his words were meant as an insult or not. Was he implying she was manly? And if so, wasn’t that a good thing? It didn’t seem to matter, because Steve took instant and immediate offense on both of their behalf. “Don’t make me call mall security, Hargrove.” He growled, effect lessened slightly by the sailor-boy uniform he was sporting. Billy seemed just as unimpressed by his get-up as Charlotte suspected he would be, and rolled his eyes, inching forwards as if to respond.

At Billy’s side, as she – strangely – always seemed to be, Jennifer bit her lip uneasily. “Billy…” she murmured, and Charlotte narrowed her eyes as Billy visibly leant back slightly, incredibly, and impossibly, _relaxing_.

“Like you have the balls, Harrington. I pay your shitty wage with my patronage.” Billy said, though the spiteful tone to his voice was considerably lessened. _Interesting._ Steve’s jaw worked, and Charlotte crossed her arms. _Dickhead._ Billy ignored them both, turning instead to Jennifer. “What’d you want?”

Jennifer gave her a nervous look, and Charlotte made a deliberate effort to lessen the dark glower she was projecting their way. It wasn’t Jennifer’s fault Billy was a giant ball of racist, violent, angry _suck_. It didn’t seem to work, and Jennifer ducked her head slightly. “Just mint-chip.” She said, half to Steve, and half to Billy.

Billy grunted, and eyed the ice cream. “Don’t you like strawberry too?” Before Jennifer could respond, Billy clicked at Steve. “Get us two cones. One with strawberry and mint-chip and one with chocolate and vanilla.” Charlotte winced at the fury emanating off of Steve as he aggressively began to serve the ice-cream.

Whilst Charlotte knew Billy showed up at Jennifer’s work – due to Robin’s complaints, and his loud, obnoxious voice she could hear through the divider – he hadn’t ever invaded her or Steve’s space at the mall before. Steve had told her all about _that_ night, about Billy’s violent rage and Max’s answering threats, and whilst she had noticed a definite lessening in the general shithead-ery from Billy, it didn’t mean that either she, or Steve, were over his actions. Lucas was as good as her brother, and Max was as good as her sister. And Steve – Steve was… well, a whole lot more than she deserved. And nobody hurt her own and got away with it.

Cones in hand, Jennifer and Billy turned to leave. Jennifer looked at her apologetically, and whilst Charlotte would have answered with a smile, Billy decided to rear his ugly head again. “Looking good, Henderson. Let me know if you’re free Friday.” He said, eyeing her brazenly. 

Charlotte knew it was just a taunt at Steve. Whatever brief, drunken attraction may have driven the pair of them together at Tina McClaine’s house party was _long_ gone. Steve, unfortunately, took the bait.

“You piece of sh-”

With a bang, the window of the backroom slid open and Robin appeared, interrupting Steve's eruption, and allowing Jennifer to drag Billy away. “Wow. Would you look at that.” She said, face and voice deadpan. She was holding a whiteboard, titled on one side ‘_you suck’,_ and on the other, ‘_you rule.’_ Steve turned slowly to look at her, face tight, and Charlotte watched with trepidation as Robin drew another notch on the ‘_you_ _suck’_ side. There were already five marks there, and only one on the side of ‘_you rule._’

Steve’s anger seemed to fade in wake of his confusion, and Charlotte felt relief settle in her gut as his face relaxed. “Wait, what?” he scowled. “What is that?”

Robin grinned. “I’ve developed this board. Whenever you suck, you get a point. Whenever you rule, you get a point.” She looked down at the board. “You sit at six to one, Popeye. And that one point is for your _smokin’_ girlfriend. Your most recent ‘_suck’_, is for letting your enemy hit on said girlfriend.”

Charlotte blinked at the sight. Steve looked torn between further outrage and curiosity. “Huh?” he seemed to settle on curiosity, and Robin rolled her eyes.

“Because I’m nice, and totally fair, I will also add a point to the ‘_Billy Hargrove Sucks’_ board.” Robin produced another, smaller board. True to her word, there was only one column, entitled ‘_Billy Hargrove Sucks’_, and Charlotte grinned at the excessive amount of tally marks. Steve, too, seemed mollified at the sight. “You obviously do not suck as much as him, but that’s not much of an achievement, since he's a filthy little rat.” Robin said, matter of fact, as she put down another tally mark.

Steve sighed. “How long has my board been up?” he asked, in a tone of long suffering.

Robin smiled, obviously pleased he was playing along. “Since my break started.”

Steve made a low screeching noise. “Do you exist to torture me?” he bemoaned. “I do not suck _that_ much_._” Charlotte let their bickering wash over her, turning to find Billy and Jennifer’s retreating figures in the mall's crowds. If the worst thing in her life was a human dickhead with no manners, then her life was _definitely_ back to normal. A little bit of the heavy paranoia that settled over her eased, and she sat back in the red leather booth, licking a splodge of caramel off her spoon.

_Things were back to normal_.


End file.
